We seem to live in a world of plastic. Our lives are so busy and hectic that plastic storage seems to be the quick and easy solution for organizing and simplifying our lives. I love the function of those pieces but also want a studio with personality, character and warmth to inspire. I want a studio I can't wait to enter! Through this blog I want to offer inspiration and solutions for storage and organizing and to share ideas for the three R's: repurposing, recycling and reusing!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Welcome to my Studio Makeover!

Welcome to my Art Studio...

This screen door is the first thing you will see as you enter my studio. It is not only a charming item, it is also functional. I use it to hold my chains for jewelry design.

But it also has another more important function.

It helps hide the ugly furnace in the corner of my studio. The door is hinged on my north wall so it can be 'opened' in order to allow access to the filter or for work on the furnace.

The bookcase shown below also covers part of the furnace. It is hung from the ceiling. It is on the right side of my drafting table. A future project will be to find some baskets or something to hold the supplies.

Below is my drafting table. I use it for painting, jewelry design, stained glass work or whatever project I happen to be working on.

These are my favorite paint brushes and stand. The little ornament hanging on the right side is from a friend and I just love it!

I keep my other various brushes stored upright in crystal, silver and glass.

If you look beyond my drafting table, to the left, you can see the rest of the room.

The first section on the west wall is where I keep my beads. I want them out where I can readily see what I have. I love when the sun shines in and the beads and glass sparkle and light up the room. I also have a mirror for use by customers trying on jewelry or for me to see how a piece hangs as I am designing it.

On the shelves below the mirror I have apothecary jars and other glass containers that hold broken jewelry that I will take apart and incorporate parts into new re-designed and updated jewelry.

I have them separated into various metal finishes, pearls, crystals, watch parts, found items, etc.

My remaining beads are contained in inexpensive baby food jars, spice jars or even jelly jars. My seed beads are to the left and are sorted mostly by color. The beads on the right of the mirror are sorted by crystals, pearls, or bugle beads with the remaining variety sorted by color.

Here is a close-up of some cigar tubes I use to store and separate crystals.

Straight ahead along the south wall I have a counter area I may also at times use to work on projects. It has a couple of projects on it now. I have my stained glass supply to the left of the counter. I just added the skirt recently and I'm really happy with it. It has kind of a French feel to it.

If you look closely you can see my jars of shells in the window catching a little sun.

On the right I have my little teapot lamp. It was pewter and I painted it a soft white. Lamps give such a comforting glow to a room.

My mannequin received a temporary makeover. She is wrapped in some old lace curtains secured with a vintage piece of costume jewelry. Poor thing had a broken leg when I got her, so she has needed some TLC. My gargoyle creation is protecting her now.

On the east side of the room, opposite the bead wall, is where I keep most of my supplies and my jewelry designs.

On the bottom shelf I keep my glitter supply in pretty glass jars on a silver tray.

Aren't these little tubes yummy!

I have to have a place to display my necklace and earring creations and these display pieces work well for me.

Above the jewelry and glitter I have a shallow shelf that holds some spice bottles on little turn tables.

I use these to store some of my jewelry findings, chip beads, and some of my larger beads.

Above the spice jars is a shelf with wire baskets used to hold a variety of supplies not used quite as often as my beads and painting supplies. Each basket is labeled with a tag as to the contents. Above the shelf of wire baskets, up high and out of reach, are plastic storage boxes containing supplies such as wood burning, stencilling supplies, paper making and sculpting supplies that although I only use them on occasion would be too expensive to replace each time. Each is separated according to category.

This young lady hangs to the left of the shelves by the inspiration board and holds my safety glasses. I can also clip a reminder note or shopping list onto the clasp on her clutch.

She is right by one of my favorite items. It's an anvil that has been in my family for years. It is attached to a very large old block of wood. My dad had it in his tool shed and it reminds me of him.

Notice my slippers next to it. All the comforts of home in my little studio world.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. I still have work I want to do, but I love spending time here and that is what matters. Be sure to visit Karen at 'My Desert Cottage' for a link to even more studios! A special thank you to Karen for doing such an amazing job putting together this blog party! I know she has worked very hard and I'm sure has put in a lot of time and effort. Her link can be viewed by clicking the 'Show off Your Studio' button on my side bar or here: http://mydesertcottage.blogspot.com/2010/04/where-bloggers-create-ii.html

Your studio is SO welcoming and NEAT! Everything has a place and I dare say you put it back when you're finished! LOVE that door with the curtain to hide the furnace. Brilliant idea.Thanks for sharing your little piece of heaven where you create. Makes me want to clean my studio! heeeeHugs,Jan

Hi: I just love your studio. That door is amazing. I wish I had one. You make everything look like magic. I wish I could see it all close up. Thank you for sharing that beautiful space with us. Blessings, Martha

Connie,I am so inspired by your lovely room.You have given me so many ideas.My room is functional but has no personality.Every inch of your room is full of personality,and I hope to gain just a fraction of your amazingly warm and inviting work space.Warmest Regards,Cat

Hi Connie, how lovely it is to visit with you and see your creative space, what a gorgeous place to work I love how its all set up. Thank you for visiting with me also, this is going to be a busy day :)Take care!Melly:)

Hiya!!Such a beautiful blog and stunning studio! This is my fist time to visit you and expect to come back many more times. I love this meme -- such a great place to meet new talented sisters in crime :)

Hi Connie! Thanks for visiting me and leaving such a nice comment--I would feel right at home in YOUR space. I like the shape and size of it, your table skirt, and your apothecary jars! You too have VERY original solutions to storage. But you have taken it way beyond and made the solution a whole other art! Jacqueline

I love your studio, especially those apothecary jars, they are wonderful. Your teapot lamp is beautiful and your baskets. Its just a great space. But the anvil is the best thing in the room, unusual and meaningful. Have a great weekend!

OMG Thank you for sharing this beautiful space! I love all the glass filled with beautiful beads and jewelryz1 That wall unit is TDF! I'm so glad you joined the party! Have a wonderful time visiting everyone!xo,KarenMy Desert Cottage

So nice to meet you and I am in awe of your wonderful studio. It is so inspiring in any direction. Love all your jars for supplies and the screen door is really a favorite. Love how it functions to hide whats behind yet makes the room so cozy and friendly.

Thank you for stopping by and your kind comment.Have fun visiting all the parties.Hugs, Celestina Marie

I knew the minute I saw the door, I was going to love your studio. What a charming and functional place you have. Love the organization and wonderful storage jars, spice containers, and cigar tubes. Very creative. Thanks for sharing your delightful and colorful studio. I'm simply blown away by your lovely space.

Your studio is amazing. I love all the glass jars filled with beads and other treasures. The anvil is great, reminding you of your Dad. I have lots of things in my room to remind me of my Mom. Thanks for the tour!

Thanks for visiting today and for sharing your wonderful workspace with me. I like how you use glass jars for your beads for both organizational and visual appeal. The screen door.......what can I say......"to die for"!!! I need to follow you for more great ideas.

What a fun blog! I enjoyed seeing the before and after photos. And your bead wall ohhh ahhh. Reminds me a of a great bead store in Amsterdam, one of my favorites for the way they display their bead in jars. I plan to go back and read more so I can take advantage of all your tips. Thanks for stopping by my blog!Cheers

So that's where all those wonderful creations are coming from! Very charming and neatly organized. Has your personality. Isn't it nice to have your own spot! The door is cool. Love the teapot lamp. Thanks for sharing.

Connie, I have enjoyed touring your creative space. I love how you have used the screen door and the way you've put your beads and crystals and jewelry in jars. It's very pretty.

it is so nice to meet you. I am so glad you enjoyed visiting my blog and that you like my bears and my creative space. Colorado is really a neat place to live, though today it's really windy and hot. Well, if we don't like the weather, we need only wait 15 minutes... LOL! Working at home is a huge blessing. And now, I should really get busy on a bear... :o)

I popped in to your other blog first and all I could think when I saw the photo there was Wow! Now I am here and have taken the tour of your studio and I am so impressed! Your bead wall looks like it has almost as many beads as one of the bead stores where I live. I really like the table skirt - nice design touch. Your room looks like a great place to create!

oh. my. goodness. that shelf holding all of your beads is TO DIE FOR!! even the mr. let out a "wow" here as i was looking at it. of course, i immediately told him i wanted one and he could expect an influx of storage supplies coming in the house over the next month!thanks for sharing your lovely space and work!amber

Connie, your studio is so YOU! Creative and beautiful. The wonderful thing is that you have captured it in picture. I was overwhelmed when I visited in person, and it is just as great in your pictures.

What a wonderful space! You have managed to combine clean lines and color with the homeiness of vintage decoraton...even useful ones. I love the look of your screen that blocks off the messing area and your paintbrush areas. The paintbrush holder is amazing, as is the mannequin.

If you wish, come and visit our blog. My thirty-year-old daughter and I have been making jewelry together for fifteen years. She just gave the blog to me three months ago as a gift. I was thrilled! We are loving it!

What a wonderful studio! I love the three R's concept - everytime I get an empty container I keep thinking I should save it because I know it could hold SOMETHING! LOL Nice to meet you and thanks for the tour.

My goodness...every time I see another wonderful studio I think "this is the most wonderful one ever" and then I find another like yours... I love the storage you've used. It's contained but totally visible. Awesome.

Just love how the screen door and lace help to soften the furnace area! Your space is so beautiful and I'm such a big fan of apothecary jars for showing off your stuff as you stash it! Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such sweet comments! Have a great evening, fondly, Robertahttp://con-tain-it.typepad.com

That's really neat that you have your Dad's anvil in your studio!!! And the spice containers with the beads - great idea!! You've certainly organized your studio well AND looking great! Thanks for sharing with us!

oh wow!! what an absolutely gorgeous studio you have!! it's magical! i would be so inspired here :) thanks for sharing it with us :)) i came her via a link at "in the light of the moon :)HUGS!!luthien :)

I looove your screen door as you enter your CrEaTiVe space, it's so inviting! I also really looove how you've incorporated your wonderful ability to have everything in it's place, but artfully and with so much finess'! It's what I especially love and try to do in my space too, but sadly, I'm not near as organized as you are. Thanks for inspiring me and also for visiting my blog! Debbie @ Cottage Hann~Me~Downs

Love your studio! From that beautiful screen door to the skirted table, I loved looking around your space. Your supply area with all the glass bottles and apothecary jars made me think of a candy counter filled with "delicious" bits and trinkets. Lots of inspiration from you here, and I would like to try and look around the rest of your blog before I leave.

What a lovely well laid out studio. I love, love the screen door and how you used it and the bookcase to hide the furnish..just great! And I love, love the paint brushes on the unique stand and how you have your beads stored..it looks like a candy shop! :0) Thanks so much for sharing your space with me.

I'd love for you to come stroll through my studio..it's been a long process but it's all finally finished!

I love your space and all your ideas, I 'll be sure to follow you for more great ideas! The skirt beneath your table is beautiful and I love the teapot lamp. The cigar tubes are the best! You have great ideas, thanks for sharing! XOXO

A girl could get lost in your studio for ever! So pretty and I love all of the clear glass containers for storage! romantic, neat and organized... very inspiring! Thank you for sharing your beautiful space with us and for your visit and sweet comments at Dandelion House.Dandelion Wishes,Deb~

I'm late in getting by to visit but oh how glad I am that I stopped by! I'm in awe of your bead collection. The jars look soo beautiful! What an awseome idea. Thanks so much for stopping by to see me....love your space!

I'm Still visiting all the Wonderful Studios~ I guess 400 + visits = alot of Computer time....Your Studio is Marvelous, I Love the Ornate Vintage Screen Door ~ The Perfect Touch & Your Wall of Organized Glass Jars are Beautiful. The only thing better than visit each blogger would be to climb thru the screen & Play in each Studio!Thanks for Sharing Your Creative PlaceCheryl

I'm so inspired by your space as well as all the beautiful things that you store your things in, that I'M motivated to make jewelry! Love the vintage screen also! thanks for stopping by MY place to visit. I'm still trying to get around and see all the beautiful and creative spaces!

Hello, love your studio, it is so very pretty... I especially love all of your glass jars full of treasures... your blogs are beautiful too, and it was fun reading about "Jasper" on your other one! xoxo Julie Marie

Morning Connie. What a lovely space and such an inspiration for me. I adore your bead shelves with the mirror, oh my what a treat is must be for your customers as they check themselves in the mirror. Love the new skirt on the table, it is a perfect fit, I could go on and on, but just have to say it is a beautiful space and I am loving how each room I see tells me a ton about it creator.Please come visit me at Big Horn Mountain Creations.HugsGailPS, I almost forgot....you got me at the screen door...

Connie your studio is beautiful. You ahve everything out where you can see it and I love that. I have to do that or I tend to forget I have it. That fabric that you made the skirt out of is 2die4. Do you know the name and maker of it?Thank you for sharing your wonderful space.June

Wow, its like a bead heaven, what a great work space and I really enjoyed looking at how you set it all up (beautifull ways to store all your items), and I love the old wood block from your dad. I love having tools around from my dad too, feels good to have them around. Beautiful space : )

WOW... I am Luv'n your room. I am also luv'n your Big Glass jars that hold your broken jewlery. and all those wire baskets.. Your have everything displayed beautifully.. I could hang out in there all day!

I love the usage of all the glass jars. I recently have been picking up all sorts of them and plan to incorporate tham in my space as well. You are so right about all the plastic. I am a scrapbooker and need lots of storage space! Thanks~ Sherry F.

I love your creating space! Some day I would love to have one like it. I have lots of beads and buttons and fabric and other "stuff" that are stashed all over my house, just waiting to be incorporated into something beautiful. Looking at your blog makes me yearn for that time even more. You are an inspiration!

Connie,I happily give up the morning, I mean, your blog is like a good book you cannot put down...what wonders,,,,,ok, first the screen door is perfect and serves many functions not just beauty,,love the lace!I love your mission statement on your banner. I love the brush stand...pure genius! The teapot lamb,,genius! The anvil, wonderful, I imagine your Granparents loved you so. The photo of your Grandmother is too fun.How talented and organized you are..WE are kindred spirits...except I'm messier.LoveMarcie

Hi,thru your Connie Eyberg Originals I manage to arrive in this blog and I am amazed. Your studio is a dream and your storage looks to be the most innovative ones. I actually got hope ,some day to have my self a little space where to have a heaven like yours.

Where I Create

Bloggy Friends

My Muse...

This photo is of my grandmother dressed for a costume party. I admired her so much and when I see this photo of a woman that wouldn't go out of the house without her Sunday best on, I have to giggle. She reminds me to never take myself too seriously.